


Moonlit Trail Ride

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2020-01-12 03:27:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18438080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: You and Alonso relax after helping out and spending time at the Jorvik Stables Open House.





	Moonlit Trail Ride

The Jorvik Stables Open House is an event like many others in Jorvik- there are horses involved, many people attend, and, of course, you are the one that the organisers turn to for help. It is really quite annoying, but you suppose that a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do around here. Besides, it’s nice that everyone sees you as reliable. Even if you sometimes find yourself wishing that someone else could take charge of the event and have the initiative to actually do something.

“You’ve got a good work ethic. I like that,” says Johanna, the woman unofficially in charge of Jorvik Stables. You beam at the praise, but then have to resist the urge to sigh as Johanna hands you several strings of balloons tethered to small metal weights for you to place around the stables. Though the Open House does have some more events this year, it is just the same as ever when it comes to Johanna’s tasks. You’re willing to bet that Stein will have lost the saddles again, and the saddle soap, and forgotten to clean the saddles. Typical.

Just as you’d thought, your day goes exactly like it did last time you came to this event, complete with Stein losing the saddles and the saddle soap. Even the group of riders who want a riding lesson look the same, though the horses are different. Just the same old, same old. Though, the petting zoo and dressage arena look different.

But then, as you are looking for the missing items for the Lost and Found corner, you bump into someone who you hadn’t expected to see so far from Msitfall.

“Alonso?” you ask, blinking in surprise as your cheeks colour. You’d bumped into him looking around the ground for lost items, trying to pick up a set of keys that hadn’t wanted to stay in your hand.

“I thought I’d find you here,” Alonso says, giving you a smile that immediately sets the butterflies in your stomach to fluttering.

“Why, because of the work there is to do?” you ask with a laugh. Alonso chuckles along with you, though he shakes his head.

“Actually, because of the horses,” Alonso says.

“Alonso, that implies that horses aren’t involved in every event in Jorvik,” you say. Alonso joins in on your laughter again, and you notice that speaking with him has considerably lightened your mood. Not that you were in a bad mood before, but you had definitely been feeling a little tired.

“You’re right,” Alonso says. “Even the fashion show had a stuffed horse.” You giggle at the memory.

“So, are you enjoying this?” you ask, gesturing to the general area around the two of you.

“I am, actually,” Alonso says. “The animals at the petting zoo are really cute, and some of those dressage displays other people are putting on are really quite something.”

“They are,” you say, nodding in agreement. “Have you thought about maybe taking part in them?” Though Alonso doesn’t seem the type to take part in grand displays like that, there is definitely something about a guy on horseback.

“I have thought about it,” Alonso says. “But I don’t know.” He shrugs. “I’m just not a dressage guy, I prefer to help out riders who are lost in the woods. Besides, can you really see Mardy doing dressage?”

“No,” you say, laughing at the thought of the pinto mustang prancing around a dressage ring. Even if Alonso would look quite dashing in a suit.

“Exactly,” Alonso says. “Besides, Mardy’s much better at navigating tough terrain by moonlight. Or the dark forests of Mistfall. If you ever need a horse to get you home, Mardy’s the right girl for the job. Just like you’re the right girl for the job here, apparently.”

“Well, someone has to do it,” you say, shrugging, though your cheeks flush at the praise.

“I admire your work ethic,” Alonso says. He steps forward and places a kiss on your cheek, which you turn into a kiss on the lips with a simple turn of your head and by cupping his face in your hands.

“As I admire yours,” you murmur to him as you pull away. “But I should get back to work now. These jobs won’t do themselves, unfortunately.”

“Need some help?” Alonso asks.

“No,” you say, shaking your head. “You just enjoy this event, I’ll be back before you know it and we can enjoy the rest of this together.”

“I’ll be waiting,” Alonso says, though you can sense that he just wants you to enjoy this event too.

And you do enjoy the event, once you get all the work done. You and Alonso walk around the stables, hand in hand, cooing over the decorations and chatting about how life has been treating the two of you since you last spoke. It has only been a few days, but Alonso is so busy with his job as a Jorvik Ranger that you don’t feel right disturbing him. And anyway, you are busy too, training horses and helping the people of Jorvik with every little thing.

The day fades into sunset and finds the two of you sitting in the petting zoo, petting the adorable animals. Alonso is scratching a mistfox under the chin while you cuddle a sheep. Somehow, the fleece is just as fluffy as it looks, and you’re sure that that’s not normal. But this is Jorvik- you’ve learned to forget all about ‘normal’.

“I wonder what this place was like with the Icelandic horses,” you wonder aloud. Alonso laughs, shaking his head.

“It seems silly in hindsight,” Alonso says. “But I guess that when you’re not used to something, things can be strange. I used to think that Jorvik was strange at first, especially Mistfall. But those colourful horses all live beyond the road that’s been blocked off for ages now, so it’s easier to pretend that everything’s normal.”

“I imagine it is,” you say. You’d thought that Jorvik was normal once, too. But now, you know all of the strangeness of it. The strangeness that you’d like to protect Alonso from, if you’re being honest, though you know that he’s perfectly capable of looking after himself.

“Speaking of,” Alonso says, letting the mistfox go to look up at you. “I was wondering if you’d like to go on a moonlit trail ride with me tonight? I know that you’re more than capable on that horse of yours, I’ve seen you racing around the tracks both in Mistfall and here. I’m not sure how you do it, honestly.”

“A lot of practice,” you say, though you’re blushing again at his praise. “I don’t know how you can navigate the trails in Mistfall by moonlight alone. Maybe you could show me.”

“So is that a yes to the moonlit trail ride?” Alonso asks. And, letting go of the sheep, you lean over to press a kiss to Alonso’s lips.

“Yes,” you say, beaming at him. The smile that he gives you in return can best be described as rapturous.

You meet Alonso at the Mistfall Ranger Station after the sun has gone down. You have dressed warm, a coat thrown on over your long-sleeved shirt and jeans that you’d worn earlier today. But Alonso looks much the same as well, only having donned a warm jacket and a scarf.

“You look warm,” you say with a smile and a laugh.

“So do you,” Alonso says, walking over from the paddock where Mardy is ready and waiting. You dismount your horse and enjoy Alonso’s embrace as he hugs you lovingly.

“Ready to go?” you ask.

“Just one thing first,” Alonso says, and pulls two neon-coloured vests from the fence. They look like the kind that workers wear, and at first you aren’t sure about them. “Safety first.”

“What are these for?” you ask, trying not to screw your face up at the rather unflattering fabric.

“For safety,” Alonso says. “In other parts of the world, riders or hikers have to wear hi-vis vests so that hunters don’t mistake them for game and shoot them. But here in Jorvik, it’s mostly so other riders can see you. And so anyone with you can see you, of course.”

“That makes sense,” you say, nodding. And, seeing that Alonso has donned his vest, you put on your own vest, even though you still think that you look stupid.

“The good thing about Jorvik,” Alonso says as he opens the gate to the paddock and leads Mardy out before mounting her, “is that horses here seem to have an uncanny sense of direction. You can always trust a horse to get you from point A to point B, no matter the terrain, weather, or time of day. I brought Mardy from home, but even she seems to have a sixth sense.”

“Well, that’s handy,” you say. You know the real reason for this sixth sense, the spirit of Aideen guiding and protecting all horses on the island, but you don’t want to make Alonso think that you’re weird or something. Let him think what he wants to think.

“And it beats having to use helmet torches,” Alonso says. You laugh with him.

All the time that you’ve had access to Mistfall, since the whole debacle with GED and Ms Drake and Rania, you haven’t really taken the time to ride through the forest at night. Sure, you’d known that your horse would have been more than capable of handling it, but old habits die hard. Besides, the forest had always seemed a little… spooky at night. Only fireflies and glowing mushrooms to light the way, and with the mist being as thick as it was, the moonlight could barely penetrate it.

But now, as you ride alongside Alonso on the narrow paths, you feel safe. Secure. Not only does Alonso care about you, but you know that you are in the capable hands of the head of the Jorvik Rangers’ Mistfall division. If anything were to go wrong, you know that Alonso would be more than capable of handling it. Not that you can’t look after yourself, because you can, but it helps to know that someone else can be the hero for once. It feels like every moment you’ve spent on Jorvik, you’ve been playing the hero. Which is nice, but… a girl needs a break every once in a while.

The woods of Mistfall are peaceful at night, as you quickly discover. There are only the sounds of the night creatures, the jingle of tack, the sound of your horses breathing, the sound of hoofsteps, and the soft rustle of the trees. You are glad for your coat, though you’ll be gladder still once you’re inside with Alonso by the fire enjoying a hot cocoa. Many times, you’ve worked late here or in Dundull and have ventured up the road to the Ranger Station to pay a visit to Alonso. The first few times, you’d brought some hot chocolate with you for him. But since then, Alonso has begun to make his own hot chocolate. It’s delicious, and you’re not sure how he does it. But a little mystery is nice sometimes.

“Did you enjoy the Open House?” you ask Alonso, though you’re not sure why you’re asking. You just helped set it up, after all, it’s not like you did everything. Only…

“It was definitely worth making the long trip to Jarlaheim,” Alonso says, giving you a smile. “I hope you managed to relax a bit too.”

“Well, it’s only every once a year,” you say, shrugging. “I can take a break tomorrow.”

“I insist on it,” Alonso says. “A good work ethic is, well, good, but you deserve some rest.”

“I know,” you say with a laugh. “I just have a hard time saying no to people and they see me and think ‘hey, free labour’.”

“That they do,” Alonso says. You smile at him in the moonlight.

“You’re one of the rare few Jorvegians who doesn’t see me as that,” you say. “That’s what I like about you.”

“You’re entitled to basic decency and respect in every relationship,” Alonso says. “Remember that. And right now, you’re entitled to some roasted marshmallows over the fire and some hot chocolate that I brought in a thermos.”

At his words, you notice that Alonso has taken you to one of the campfires that are dotted around Jorvik. Grinning, you dismount and sit back (at Alonso’s insistence) while Alonso lights the fire. He even pours out hot chocolate for you, and makes the s’mores for you. You can’t seem to stop grinning, your body warmed from more than just the fire. In a world of people who take advantage of kindness, Alonso is a rare and true gentleman. And you are so glad to be his girlfriend.


End file.
